Olympus E-5 vs Olympus E-PL5

The following is a detailed assessment of the Olympus E-5 versus Olympus E-PL5, former is a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and they are both produced by Olympus. There is a noticeable difference between the resolutions of the E-5 (12MP) and E-PL5 (16MP) but both cameras offer the identical sensor sizes (Four Thirds).

Photography Glossary

The E-5 was announced 19 months prior to the E-PL5 which makes them a generation away from each other. Each of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-5 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Olympus E-PL5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before going right into a detailed comparison, here is a simple highlight of how the E-5 matches up against the E-PL5 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-5 & Olympus PEN E-PL5. The whole galleries are viewable at Olympus E-5 Gallery & Olympus E-PL5 Gallery.

If you are looking to travel with your camera, you will want to consider its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-5 comes with physical dimensions of 143mm x 117mm x 75mm (5.6" x 4.6" x 3.0") with a weight of 800 grams (1.76 lbs) and the Olympus E-PL5 has measurements of 111mm x 64mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") accompanied by a weight of 325 grams (0.72 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus E-5 versus Olympus E-PL5 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you are working with at the time. Underneath is a front view dimension comparison of the E-5 and the E-PL5.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability score of the E-5 and E-PL5 is 58 and 88 respectively.

Generally, it can be tough to picture the contrast between sensor dimensions merely by looking at technical specs. The picture here will help give you a greater sense of the sensor sizes in the E-5 and E-PL5.

As you have seen, the two cameras come with the identical sensor size albeit different megapixels. You can expect the Olympus E-PL5 to resolve more detail with its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will make it easier to crop photographs a good deal more aggressively. The more aged E-5 is going to be behind in sensor tech.